Photography

Dinka: Legendary Cattle Keepers of Sudan

Written by Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith, Foreword by Francis M. Deng

Pub Date: September 14, 2010

Format: Hardcover

Category: Photography - Individual Photographers - Essays

Publisher: Rizzoli

Trim Size: 11-3/4 x 15-3/4

US Price: $75.00

CAN Price: $88.00

ISBN: 978-0-8478-3497-6

About This Book

This seminal volume on the indigenous African Dinka group is a landmark documentation of a vanishing people in war-torn Sudan. World-renowned photographers Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith have devoted their lives to documenting the rapidly disappearing ceremonies and cultures of the indigenous people of Africa. In breathtakingly poignant images, they present a story that started with their first visit to the Dinka thirty years ago. Living in harmony with their cattle, the Dinka have survived years of war only to find their culture on the brink of vanishing forever. Where the White Nile River reaches Dinka country, it spills over 11,000 square miles of flood plain to form the Sudd, the largest swamp in the world. In the dry season, it provides abundant pasture for cattle, and this is where the Dinka set up their camps. The men dust their bodies and faces with gray ash—protection against flies and lethal malarial mosquitoes, but also considered a mark of beauty. Covered with this ash and up to 7’ 6" tall, the Dinka were referred to as "gentle" or "ghostly" giants by the early explorers. The Dinka call themselves "jieng" and "mony-jang," which means "men of men."

About the Author

Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith have spent a lifetime studying the peoples of the Horn of Africa, and have published their photography in a series of acclaimed books as well as major magazine features in Time, Life, Vogue, Marie Claire, and Elle. They exhibit and lecture widely at prestigious venues such as the American Museum of Natural History, The Smithsonian Institution, and the Royal Geographical Society in London. Francis M. Deng is currently Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide. He has also served as a senior diplomat for Sudan, as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (1976–80), and as an ambassador to the United States.

Author Bookshelf

Angela Fisher

Author Bookshelf

Carol Beckwith

Reviews

“Fisher and Beckwith have spent 30 years photographing traditional African cultures. In this monumental volume, they turn their attention to the Dinka of southern Sudan and their majestic cattle.” ~New York Times Book Review

"This volume is luminous, not only for its pictures and presentation but also for the spirit in which it was made" ~American Photo